Who scooped the top honours at Scotland's premier mortgage event?
As the sun set on a gloriously sunny day in Edinburgh, it was time to shine a light on the highly deserving winners of The Scottish Mortgage Awards 2025 – and they shone every bit as brightly.
Once again, Scotland’s premier mortgage event wowed all-comers, as scores of industry professionals, dressed in their finest, converged on the beautiful Sheraton Grand, in the heart of the city – all eager to learn who had scooped the honours.
Sponsored by Mortgage Introducer and its parent company KM Business Information, the Awards celebrated the incredible talent that makes up the industry, paying the ultimate tribute to mortgage business north of the border, at a glittering gala event.
While first and foremost, the event showcased the breadth of extraordinary ability and entrepreneurial spirit in Scotland’s mortgage sector, it was also an excellent opportunity to network with the true movers and shakers of the business. Guests were greeted with a sparkling arrival cocktail party, leading on to a superb sit-down dinner, and the marvelously inspiring awards ceremony itself. The atmosphere was electric, with a real sense of a joyous summer celebration, and a heightened anticipation about which of the nominated mortgage personnel would pick up the prestigious awards.
Michael Allison, commercial director of Roma Finance summed it up beautifully after scooping the award for Specialist Lender of the Year. “The energy in the room is fantastic,” Allison said. “What I have really loved about the awards is that every winner has been given a voice. Nobody expects to win, but everyone wants to try their best.”
Lou Watkins, operations & marketing director of Source Insurance, which won GI Provider of the Year, was equally impressed. “What I really love is that everybody is so supportive of each other,” observed Watkins. “They’re all cheering for each other. It’s not competitive, it’s supportive, and I think that’s really important. That’s really lovely to see.”
James Briffitt, head of intermediaries for Nationwide Building Society, an award sponsor, commented: “It’s really important to be at these types of events to recognise the brokers that put their customers at the forefront of everything they do. It’s an absolute honour and a privilege to come up to this fantastic city and present an award. It’s a wonderful venue, wonderful hosts – it’s fantastic, absolutely amazing.”
Meanwhile, Daniel O’Connor, chief operating officer, from LendInvest, which sponsored Broker of the Year (Regional) - Edinburgh, said it was incredibly important to be involved. “As a company we have invested heavily in Scotland, we work all across the UK and it’s important to us to invest in Scotland. We partner with some amazing brokers. We wouldn’t be able to disrupt the market as we aim to do at LendInvest without the partnership with a lot of our brokers partners. The atmosphere is absolutely bouncing in here tonight – it a good night.
“We have come through some challenging times through the last couple of years so it’s just nice to take a moment, take a pause to recognise that there’s a lot of great work happening across the industry.”
READ MORE: I want to lead AMI in my own way'
The prize winners on the big night
Without further ado, here is the full list of the winners at The Scottish Mortgage Awards 2025:
The GO Financial Services Award for BDM of the Year: Caroline Brown - Lloyds Banking Group (Halifax Intermediaries)
Building Society of the Year: Skipton Building Society for Intermediaries
Excellence in Philanthropy & Community Service: Scottish Building Society Foundation
The Vitality Award for Distributor of the Year: TMA Club
The Halifax Intermediaries Award for Broker of the Year (Regional – Dundee & Fife): The Mortgage Finance Store Ltd
Broker of the Year (Regional – Dumfries & Borders): DL Mortgage Services Ltd
The LendInvest Award for Broker of the Year (Regional – Edinburgh): Aberdein Considine
Broker of the Year (Regional – Highlands & Islands): Rettie Financial Services
The Barclays Award for Broker of the Year (Regional – Aberdeen/North): Mandy Smith Mortgage
The Nationwide Building Society UK Award for Broker of the Year (Regional) – Glasgow: Mortgage Advice Bureau (Glasgow)
Business Leader of the Year (Lender): Paul Denton - Scottish Building Society
GI Provider of the Year: Source Insurance
Protection Provider of the Year: Vitality
Later Life Lender of the Year: Scottish Building Society
The Together Award for Broker of the Year (Regional) - Perth/Stirling/Falkirk (Central Region): Mortgage Focus
The Scottish Building Society Award for New Brokerage of the Year: Amanda Law Mortgages
The NatWest Award for Young Achiever (under 40): Karolina Wrobel - The Mortgage Finance Store Ltd
The Skipton Building Society Award for Rising Star of the Year (Broker): Alexandra Mackenzie - Home Sweet Home Mortgage Services (Inverness mortgage services Ltd)
The CARA Mortgage Services Award for Woman of Distinction: Chloe Timperley - Green Finance Institute
Specialist Lender of the Year: Roma Finance
Surveyor of the Year: Shepherd Chartered Surveyors
The LV=GI Award for Business Leader of the Year (Broker): Iain Greer - Monarch Financial Services Ltd
The Mortgage Lender Award for Specialist Broker of the Year: Viable Mortgages
The Mortgage Advice Bureau UK Award for Mainstream Lender of the Year: Barclays
Best Overall Broker in Scotland: Rettie Financial Services
Lifetime Achievement Award: Paul McGowan - Independent Mortgage Store
The winners’ excitement was huge. Karolina Wrobel, whole of market mortgage and protection consultant at The Mortgage Finance Store, picked up the award for Broker of the Year (Regional) – Dundee & Fife, and commented: “It feels absolutely amazing,” she said. “I’m so humbled and so grateful for this award. It’s not me, it’s the whole team. We give so much support to each other and we just want the best for our clients. It feels like a dream come true.”
There were warm words too from Sam McKenna, from TMA Mortgage Club, who collected the award for Distributor of the Year and admitted to being ‘very shocked’. “We’ve got a really good team,” McKenna said, “and they all really want to do well for our brokers. It’s a big celebration and it’s nice to see all the Scottish brokers together.”
It was certainly a night like no other for Paul McGowan, formerly of Independent Mortgage Store, whose Lifetime Achievement Award reflected his dedication to the business. “It’s really important for me personally,” he said. “We have worked as a small company for 26 years, and to get this recognition for our excellence in the industry is so important, and I think this is a benchmark for a lot of other brokerages to see that they have got a chance to win an award.”
What an incredible evening, what brilliant winners, and what a fantastic mortgage industry there is in Scotland. Congratulations to all of the winners and those nominated, and to everyone who helped make The Scottish Mortgage Awards 2025 truly memorable.
